Assuming all the components are working well in combination, the turntable and its supporting structure has the most significant contribution to the retrieval of the maximum amount of data from the grooves. Changing tonearms and cartridges obviously change the resulting sound. As they should. That can lead opinion because those parts are likely changed more often. But the turntable dictates the global quality of the sound realized.
Does a record player make that much of a difference??
Question for all you Audionerds - in your experience, how much of a difference does one record player make over the next compared with the differences that a cartridge, phone pre-amp, and separate head amp make in the signal chain?
Reason I ask: I just upgraded from a MM cart to a MC cart (Dynavector 20x2-low output). Huge difference - the Dynavector sounds much more alive and detailed compared with the MM. I find my current record player (a Marantz TT16) to be a real pain to work with - I have to manually move the belt on the motor hub to change speeds, and the arm is not very adjustable or easy to do so. But, aside from that, it's not terrible. How much of a difference can I really expect if I upgrade to a better record spinner vs the change I heard from upgrading to a better cart?
My next acquisition is a separate head amp to feed the phono stage.
Thanks for all your insights!
Josh
Showing 4 responses by noromance
@eryoung2k What cartridge? |
@rsf507 Ironically, Mr. Lavigne was the first gentleman to reply to this thread. |
You are speculating from your presumption. The turntable and its support is the foundation for everything further down the chain. While different cartridges may have wildly differing presentations, the turntable sets the fundamental characteristics of how well the transducer retrieves the music from the groove. |